Creating Solutions

This guide walks you through creating solutions that bundle sequences for deployment across environments.

Before You Begin

Make sure you have:

At least one published sequence to include
Understanding of your deployment pipeline
Environments configured in your system

Creating a Solution

Step 1: Navigate to Solutions

Open Lens in your browser
Click Solutions in the sidebar
Click New Solution

Step 2: Basic Information

Field	Description	Example
Name	Unique identifier	`customer-portal`
Initial Version	Starting version	`1.0.0`

Step 3: Add Sequences

Click Add Sequence
Select a sequence from the dropdown
Specify the version requirement
Click Add

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Add Sequence                                           │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  Sequence:           [deploy-backend            ▼]      │
│                                                         │
│  Version Requirement: [^1.0.0                    ]      │
│                                                         │
│  Preview:             Matches 1.0.0, 1.2.0, 1.5.3       │
│                                                         │
│                           [Cancel]  [Add]               │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Step 4: Order Sequences

Sequences execute in order. Arrange appropriately:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Solution Sequences                                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│  1. [≡] run-migrations (^1.0.0)         [↑] [↓] [✕]    │
│  2. [≡] deploy-backend (^2.0.0)         [↑] [↓] [✕]    │
│  3. [≡] deploy-frontend (^1.0.0)        [↑] [↓] [✕]    │
│  4. [≡] warmup-caches (^1.0.0)          [↑] [↓] [✕]    │
│                                                         │
│  [+ Add Sequence]                                       │
│                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Step 5: Create the Solution

Click Create Solution to save. You will be redirected to the solution detail page.

Step 6: Configure Variable Templates (Optional)

Variable templates are managed after creation, not within the create form. To define variables that can differ per environment:

Open the solution from the Solutions list
Click the Variable Templates button in the solution header action bar
Click Add Variable Template
Configure the template and click Save

Solution Editor Interface

The create form has two cards — Basic Information and Sequences — followed by the action bar.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Create Solution                                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Basic Information                                      │
│  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────  │
│  Name:    [customer-portal                      ]       │
│  Version: [1.0.0                                ]       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Sequences                                              │
│  ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────  │
│  ┌─────┬─────────────────────┬────────────┬─────────┐   │
│  │ #   │ Sequence            │ Version    │ Actions │   │
│  ├─────┼─────────────────────┼────────────┼─────────┤   │
│  │ 1   │ run-migrations      │ ^1.0.0     │ [↑][↓][✕]│  │
│  │ 2   │ deploy-backend      │ ^2.0.0     │ [↑][↓][✕]│  │
│  │ 3   │ deploy-frontend     │ ^1.0.0     │ [↑][↓][✕]│  │
│  └─────┴─────────────────────┴────────────┴─────────┘   │
│                                                         │
│  [+ Add Sequence]                                       │
│                                                         │
│                     [Cancel]  [Create Solution]         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Example Solutions

Web Application

Sequence	Version	Purpose
`database-migration`	`^1.0.0`	Update database schema
`deploy-api`	`^2.0.0`	Deploy API services
`deploy-web`	`^1.0.0`	Deploy web frontend
`invalidate-cdn`	`^1.0.0`	Clear CDN cache

Microservices Suite

Sequence	Version	Purpose
`deploy-gateway`	`^1.0.0`	API Gateway
`deploy-auth-service`	`^1.0.0`	Authentication service
`deploy-user-service`	`^2.0.0`	User management
`deploy-order-service`	`^1.0.0`	Order processing
`health-check-all`	`^1.0.0`	Verify all services

Infrastructure Update

Sequence	Version	Purpose
`backup-configs`	`^1.0.0`	Save current configs
`update-certificates`	`^1.0.0`	Rotate TLS certs
`restart-services`	`^1.0.0`	Apply changes
`verify-ssl`	`^1.0.0`	Confirm TLS working

After Creation

Your solution is ready to:

Deploy - Execute on target environments
Configure Variables - Set environment-specific values
Promote - Move through your deployment pipeline

Sequence Ordering

Order Considerations

Consider dependencies when ordering:

Common Patterns

Database-First:

1. database-migration
2. deploy-application

Blue-Green:

1. deploy-to-inactive
2. verify-inactive
3. switch-traffic

Canary:

1. deploy-canary
2. monitor-canary
3. deploy-full

Validation

Before saving, Mantis validates:

Check	Description
Sequences exist	All referenced sequences are available
Versions available	Matching versions exist for requirements
Slug uniqueness	No other solution with the same name or equivalent slug (the name is auto-converted to a URL-safe slug)
Valid version format	Semantic version format

Best Practices

1. Keep Solutions Focused

One solution = one deployable unit:

Good	Bad
`payment-service`	`all-services`
`customer-portal`	`q4-release`
`api-gateway`	`everything`

2. Use Meaningful Names

Names should describe what’s being deployed:

Good: customer-portal, order-api, analytics-dashboard
Bad:  app1, solution-v2, new-thing

3. Start with Simple Versions

Begin with 1.0.0 and increment meaningfully:

1.0.0 - Initial release
1.1.0 - Added monitoring sequence
2.0.0 - Major architecture change

4. Document Variables

Add descriptions to help operators understand:

Variable: database_host
Label: Database Hostname
Help: Primary PostgreSQL server hostname

Troubleshooting

Cause: Sequence has no versions yet

Solution: Add at least one version to the sequence before including it in a solution

Version Requirement Too Restrictive

Cause: No versions match the requirement

Solution: Use a broader requirement (e.g., ^1.0.0 instead of =1.5.3)

Cannot Add Same Sequence Twice

Cause: Some UIs prevent duplicate sequences

Solution: This is expected behavior; use one reference per sequence

Next Steps

Variables - Configure environment-specific values
Versioning - Manage solution versions
Promotion Lifecycle - Environment progression
Overview - Return to solutions overview